Combustors

ABSTRACT

Combustors utilizable in a variety of sizes, configurations, and applications in which vortex induced centrifugal forces and hot gas recirculation are employed for flame stabilization. Both gas and liquid fuels can be burned, and low emission as well as other modes of operation are available.

The present invention relates to novel, improved combustors which employswirl flame stabilization but have a number of important advantages overheretofore disclosed combustors making use of that technique.

At present, the most important applications of my invention are thoughtto be in the gas turbine field; and the principles of that inventionwill accordingly be developed primarily by reference to suchapplications. This is for the sake of convenience, however, and is notintended to limit the scope of the appended claims as my invention canalso be employed to advantage in furnace and other combustors.

For the sake of convenience the term "CIVIC" (vortex (or swirl) inducedcombustion) will be used to distinguish my novel combustors from thoseof the prior art which includes the following, exemplary U.S. Patents:

    ______________________________________                                        U.S. Pat. Nos.                                                                            Patentee(s)      Issue Date                                       ______________________________________                                        2,090,568   R. F. Andler     8/17/37                                          2,284,906   W. B. Kerrick    6/02/42                                          2,560,078   W. J. Bloomer    7/10/51                                          2,806,517   J. A. TeNuyl     9/17/57                                          2,986,206   A. R. Boelsma    5/30/61                                          3,007,310   K. Eisele        11/07/61                                         3,030,773   R. H. Johnson    4/24/62                                          3,067,582   R. M. Schirmer   12/11/62                                         3,121,996   J. Smith         2/25/64                                          3,227,202   L. J. Morgan     1/04/66                                          3,430,443   L. F. Richardson et al                                                                         3/04/69                                          3,498,055   J. J. Faitani et al                                                                            3/03/70                                          3,630,024   E. P. Hopkins    12/28/71                                         3,675,419   G. D. Lewis      7/11/72                                          3,703,259   G. J. Sturgess et al                                                                           11/21/72                                         3,808,802   Y. Tanasawa      5/07/74                                          3,866,413   G. J. Sturgess   2/18/75                                          3,872,664   R. P. Lohmann et al                                                                            3/25/75                                          3,912,164   A. H. Lefebvre et al                                                                           10/14/75                                         3,937,008   S. J. Markowski et al                                                                          2/10/76                                          4,006,589   R. M. Schirmer   2/08/77                                          4,007,002   R. M. Schirmer   2/08/77                                          4,023,921   D. Anson         5/17/77                                          4,054,028   K. Kawaguchi     10/18/77                                         ______________________________________                                    

The mode of operation that perhaps best illustrates the unique featuresand capabilities of CIVIC combustors employs "stratified charge"injection of a liquid fuel. The expression stratified charge, commonlyused indiscriminately to describe fuel injection into air inreciprocating engines, very accurately describes the stable fuel-airstrata which is unique to this invention and is of fundamentalimportance to it.

In this mode a thin, uniform film of fuel is formed at a very preciselocation exactly on the inner boundary of an axially moving annulus ofcombustion air which has theretofore been caused to swirl or rotateabout the axis of the annulus. Downstream of the zone in which thisstratified film of fuel is formed, the fuel is atomized by the highvelocity combustion air acting on one side of the fuel film and aided,as necessary, by a substantially smaller, subordinate stream of airdirected at high velocity into contact with the other, or inner, side ofthe fuel film.

Very precise location of the atomized fuel droplets in relation to theseair streams and to gases swirling within the combustor is of utmostimportance in assuring proper functioning of the combustor. Mislocationof the fuel by as little as ca. 0.03 inch radially outward into thecombustion airstream results in a serious deterioration in flamestability. Mislocation of the fuel by the same distance radially inwarddirects the fuel into the recirculating combustion products, resultingin excessive smoke and luminosity. Lack of precision in the location ofthe atomized fuel droplets, typical in conventional practice, isresponsible for significant defects in combustion.

To achieve precision in location, the centrifugal forces acting on thefuel droplets must often be inhibited to assure ignition before the fueldroplets centrifuge radially outward. Yet, after ignition, the presenceof centrifugal force is a prerequisite to fuel-air stratification.

As the stratified fuel-air charge moves toward the downstream end of thecombustor, the atomized fuel is ignited by recirculating combustionproducts; and a small part of the fuel burns, vaporizing the rest of thefuel and forming a thin, stratified annulus of hot vaporized fueladjacent to, and rotating with, the swirling annulus of combustion air.The centrifugal force of the swirling flow inhibits mixing of the hotvaporized fuel with the cooler combustion air, a most important featureof my invention.

Subsequently, the annulus of combustion air undergoes a rapid outwardexpansion. This drastically reduces the centrifugal force of the swirlflow, producing rapid fuel-air mixing and efficient combustion of thefuel with a short flame.

Further downstream, the swirling gases contract inwardly naturally or bymechanical constraint, and the flow annulus disappears; but the swirlingflow of the gases continues. This, following the initial, outwardexpansion of the gases, generates inner and outer recirculation zones inwhich hot gases travel upstream and ignite the fuel-air mixture. Asuperficially similar ignition heretofore employed in gas turbineengines is highly deficient because of extraneous jets of air (this isthe so-called "jet stirred" recirculation stabilization technique) andimproper location of the fuel.

Initial, necessarily earlier than conventional, ignition is provided bythe hot gases in the inner recirculation zone; they also furnish themain flame stabilizing mechanism. The gases recirculating in this zonehave a forced vortex pattern and consequently have only a small radialforce component. This is important in that the gases consequently do notdisturb the wanted stratification between the cool swirl air (generallyof the free vortex sort) and the hot vaporized fuel until the combustionzone is reached.

One important advantage of the present invention as just described overconventional gas turbine combustors with their jet stirred recirculationis a much superior flame, especially when the combustor is fueled by aliquid. The flame is shorter, more stable and cooler, and typicallynonluminous and without smoke. In fact, it resembles the pale blue flameheretofore generally obtained only by burning a gaseous fuel. This isimportant because it results in much cooler combustor walls.

The lack of the aforementioned, thin stratified annulus of hot vaporizedfuel results in a luminous smoky flame in heretofore proposedcombustors. The smoke contaminates heat transfer surfaces and thuslowers the efficiency of heat transfer.

Stratified charge operation as just described is also advantageous inthat it can be employed in off-design conditions such as light-off wherepremix and other fuel injection schemes are in some cases not practicalbecause of inefficiency and lean flameout, for example.

Minimization of hot spots in the combustion zone is also an importantattribute of CIVIC combustors. It is well-known that high NO_(x)emissions can result if such hot spots exist even if the overallreaction temperature is kept low.

It is not essential that stratified charge fuel injection be employed ina CIVIC combustor. Premix fuel injection can also be employed, forexample.

Other important advantages of my novel combustors are that they aresimpler, easier to cool, and less expensive than those typicallyavailable and can be substituted for the latter without major redesignof combustor-associated components or systems. Up- and downsizing arenot fundamental problems, and CIVIC combustors can be produced (or used)in all presently employed combustor configurations--can, canannular,annular, and axisymmetric annular.

That size is not a dominant design constraint of my novel combustors isespecially unexpected in view of the well-known problems in scaling fueldrop size to combustor size, especially as the size of the combustor isreduced.

CIVIC combustors are also readily adaptable to dual (liquid and gas)fuel operation.

A further advantage of my invention is that I can readily provideoptimum performance, with respect to the various objectives statedabove, for fuels so diverse as high viscosity, difficult-to-evaporateliquid fuels on one hand and low BTU content gases and liquified gasessuch as ethane, propane, and butane on the other hand.

Air assist can, moreover, easily be employed in CIVIC combustors to: (a)generate liquid fuel droplets of the size needed for good flameperformance; (b) promote the swirl air-fuel stratification essential inthat "basic" operational mode of CIVIC combustors described above; and(c) as a novel means of forming a thin film of fuel.

Furthermore, in my novel combustors, the air can be supplied to thecombustor in a variety of ways compatible with such diverse goals asminimization of emissions, maximum stable operating range, and efficientcombustion of viscous liquid fuels and difficult-to-burn, low BTUcontent gaseous fuels.

Yet another important advantage of my novel combustors is that superiorlow emission operation can be made available by only simplemodifications of the basic combustor to provide premixed fuel injection.

Because of superior flame stability and earlier ignition, much highercombustion air-to-fuel ratios can be employed in my combustors than ispossible in conventional combustors. This is important as excesscombustion air can consequently be utilized to form a uniform, cool(lean) fuel-air mixture that, at least in gas turbine applications, willhave emission levels in the range contemplated in proposed stringentstandards yet also provide an extended low emission operating range.

Similarly, a variety of co- and contrarotating combinations of swirlair, atomizing air, and fuel flows can be used to advantage in variousCIVIC combustor applications to control fuel droplet size and the rateat which the subsequently vaporized fuel is mixed with the main airswirl to promote such important and often contradictory objectives asminimum emissions and maximum flame stability.

Another important advantage is that instantaneous switching between lowemission operation and the stratified charge mode of operation caneasily be made without adding substantially to the complexity of thecombustor. This is particularly significant because such dual modeoperation has heretofore typically required the complexity and cost oftwo sets of injectors, one for premix injection for low emissions andanother for stratified injection to provide adequate flame stability.The additional injector set with its attendant cost and problems such asfuel manifold emptying and filling are eliminated by my invention.

Also, in my novel combustors, the incoming combustion air can be used,in many instances essentially "cost free", to cool the combustor dome,to prevent the build-up of carbon deposits in marginal operatingconditions, and to promote the formation of the fuel film andatomization of the fuel in the low emission operating mode.

From the foregoing it will be apparent to the reader that the provisionof novel, improved combustors is the primary object of the presentinvention.

Other, also important but more specific, objects of my invention residein the provision of combustors:

which are efficient over wide operating ranges;

which provide a superior, short, stable, cool, smokeless, andnon-luminous flame;

which can be made to operate with one injector system both in astratified charge mode and in a premix low emission mode;

which, even in the stratified charge mode of operation, have relativelylow emissions;

which are simple, inexpensive, and relatively easy to cool;

which can be readily scaled up and down in size and which can beproduced in all of the conventional combustor configurations;

which are designed to efficiently burn typically difficult-to-burn fuelsranging from gases of low BTU content to viscous liquids;

which can be substituted for conventional combustors without majorredesign of the systems in which they are employed;

which are versatile both in terms of the features discussed above andothers relating to their construction and operation and in terms of theuses to which they can be put;

which have various combinations of the foregoing attributes.

Still another important, primary object of my invention is the provisionof novel, improved methods of burning gas and liquid fuels whichprovides various ones of the advantages discussed above.

Still other important objects and features and additional advantages ofmy invention will become apparent to the reader from the appended claimsand as the ensuing detailed description and discussion proceeds inconjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a combustor embodying andconstructed in accord with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section through the combustor of FIG. 1, taken substantiallyalong line 2--2 of the latter figure;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a gas turbine engine equipped with a combustorembodying the principles of the present invention, part of the turbinehousing being broken away to show its internal components;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through a second form of CIVICcombustor which has both normal "stratified charge" and premix lowemission modes of operation;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a system for switching a combustor likethat shown in FIG. 4 between normal and low emission modes of operation;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are longitudinal sections through third and fourth formsof combustors which embody the principles of my invention; the combustorof FIG. 6 has the advantage that the combustor dome is cooled by primarycombustion air at an essentially zero energy cost; and, in bothcombustors, build-ups of deleterious carbon deposits are inhibited;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are partial longitudinal sections through fifth and sixthforms of my invention which provide superior flame performance duringstart-up and greater control over various facets of combustor operation;

FIG. 10 is a partial longitudinal section through an alternate form offuel injector for CIVIC combustors which are somewhat similar in form tothe combustors shown in FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a section through the injector of FIG. 10, takensubstantially along line 11--11 of the latter figure;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 of an injector employing a similartechnique for forming the thin film of fuel typically wanted in acombustor of the character described and claimed herein and constructedin accord with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal section through a combustor in accord with theprinciples of the present invention which employs a premix mode of fuelinjection somewhat different from those modes previously described; and

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal section through a novel axisymmetric annularcombustor constructed in accord with the principles of the presentinvention.

Those exemplary embodiments of my invention described in the detaileddescription which follows are to some extent alike. To the extent thatthis is true, identical reference characters will be employed toidentify structural components, etc. which are alike.

Referring now to the drawing, FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a CIVIC combustor 20constructed in accord with and embodying the principles of the presentinvention.

The major components of combustor 20 are: (a) a cylindrical, elongatedcasing 22 which has an upstream section 24 and a downstream section 26connected by a radially extending transition section 28, and (b) aliquid fuel injector 30 concentrically disposed in the upstream casingsection 24 with its forward or downstream end 32 spaced upstream fromthe downstream end of that section.

Injector 30 cooperates with upstream casing section 24 to form anannular combustion air passage 34 having an inlet 36.

Disposed in the combustion air passage adjacent inlet 36 and extendingbetween casing section 24 and injector 30 is a set of radially oriented,equiangularly spaced, longitudinally extending swirl vanes 40. Thelatter impart a swirl, or rotational component, to combustion airintroduced into passage 34 through inlet 36 as indicated by arrow 42 inFIG. 1. A swirling or rotating, axially moving annulus of combustion airis thereby formed in the passage.

Fuel is typically introduced into the injector 30 of combustor 20through a fuel line 44. The fuel line communicates through a radiallyextending passage 46 in the injector with an annular passage 48.Typically, the fuel line might be connected to passage 48 through one ofthe swirl vanes 40 to minimize flow disturbances in the combustion airpassage.

The annular fuel passage 48 extends axially downstream and then anglesoutwardly and opens onto the exterior surface 49 of the injector at alocation spaced upstream from the downstream face 32 of the latter.

Fuel supplied to the injector is consequently discharged in an annulusonto the exterior surface 49 of injector 30 at the precise locationcorresponding to the outlet of annular passage 48.

Extending downstream from the fuel passage outlet is a fuel film zone 50in which the swirling combustion air moving through passage 34 spreadsand thins the fuel into a stratified film 52. This stratificationpersists as the swirling air reaches, and moves downstream from, theface 32 of the injector. There, the film of fuel leaves the surface 49of the injector and attaches precisely to the inner boundary of thecombustion air annulus.

The fuel film zone 50 must be long enough to insure that a thin,relatively uniform film of fuel is formed. On the other hand, it cannotbe too long; or an unwanted, and excessive, amount of the fuel willevaporate prematurely, producing flame instability and, potentially,premature ignition and possible burn-out of the injector.

For can-type combustors of practical sizes, fuel film zone lengths of0.5 to 1.5 inches will typically prove satisfactory.

For the reasons just discussed, overheating and consequent excessiveevaporation of the fuel delivered through the injector must also beavoided. This goal can be realized by employing the injectorconstruction discussed above and shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thatconstruction also has the decided advantage that it is much less complexthan structures heretofore proposed for comparable purposes.

That this simple method of forming a stratified fuel film has heretoforebeen overlooked is not surprising. The swirling combustion air maygenerate forces of 70,000 g or higher, particularly in the smallercombustors; and logic suggests that such high forces would dislodge thefilm of fuel from the inner boundary of the combustion air annulus. Thatthey do not, especially when care is exercised in precisely placing thefuel on the external surface of the combustor as described above, is anentirely unexpected result.

Extending downstream from fuel film zone 50 and the end 32 of fuelinjector 30 is a flame stratification zone 54 which reaches to thedownstream end of upstream combustor casing section 24. The fuel makingup film 52 is atomized in zone 54 by virtue of the high velocity swirlcombustion air assisted, when necessary, by air flowing from an axiallyextending, central passage 56 in injector 30 into a radially extending,annular slot 58. Radially oriented, equiangular spaced vanes 60 inpassage 58 impart a rotational component or swirl to the assistingatomizing air, which is subsequently discharged at high velocity fromslot 58 against the inner side of fuel film 52.

This unique combination of a thin fuel film derived from high velocitycombustion air and high velocity assisting atomizing air is mostimportant because of its superiority in producing small diameterdroplets of fuel. These small droplets are remarkably resistant tocentrifuging owing to their high drag and low inertia. This is importantbecause the natural tendency is toward radial movement of the fueloutwardly into the swirling annulus of combustion air; and this wouldcause a notable deterioration in the flame produced by the subsequentcombustion of the flame, especially in its stability.

Generally, at least the stoichiometric amount of air required for thecombustion of the fuel supplied to the combustor is delivered throughcombustion air passage 34; and excess air is preferably supplied intypical applications. That this can be done is also an important featureof combustor 20 as well as those other embodiments of my invention to bedescribed hereinafter. The supply of (particularly excess) air in thismanner results: in a very cool, non-luminous, and short flame whichremains stable over a wide operating range; in the absence of smoke; andin a combustor having walls that remain cool. In short, thecharacteristics of a high quality natural gas burning combustor areobtained with liquid fuels. This is important in terms of simplicity,reduced manufacturing costs, and long service life as well as for theother reasons discussed above.

In contrast, comparable attempts to supply excess combustion air inheretofore proposed combustors have invariably failed because ofinadequate flame stability. This generates such major problems as smoke,overheated combustor walls and an attendant short service life.Inadequate flame stability also severely limits the operating range ofthe combustor in applications such as high altitude gas turbineoperation, for example.

Despite the foregoing, the provision of excess combustion air in theouter swirl annulus is not a requisite to the successful operation ofcombustor 20. For example, it is often preferable to supply a morenearly stoichiometric amount of air in that fashion when heavier, moreviscous and difficult-to-burn fuels are being employed because higherflame temperatures can be reached to enhance fuel evaporation.

Furthermore, even a deficiency of air can be advantageously supplied inthe outer swirl annulus in some circumstances--e.g., in the burning oflow BTU gases and, notably, in the combustion of fuels having a highcontent of fuel-bound nitrogen as this reduces the tendency toward theformation of noxious nitrogen oxides.

The amount of assisting atomizing air that might be used is a smallfraction of that delivered through combustion air passage 34.

Typically, swirl blades 60 in discharge slot 58 will be oriented toimpart to the atomizing air a rotational component opposite thatimparted to the combustion air in passage 34 by vanes 40 (counterswirl).This maximizes the resistance of the atomized fuel to centrifuging(i.e., radial outward movement into the swirling combustion air) byvirtue of improved fuel atomization and because, as the fuel dropletsare momentarily moved in contraflow to the main air swirl, by virtue ofa momentary reduction in the centrifugal forces on the fuel droplets.

In addition such contraflow of assisting air, by virtue of increasedshear between the fuel, combustion air, and recirculating gases,minimizes the tendency for such assisting air to excessively delayignition.

Ignition having been obtained, the presence of swirl forces is necessaryfor the maintenance of the fuel stratification. These contradictoryrequirements of initial minimization of centrifugal force, immediatelyfollowed, after ignition, by maintenance of a high centrifugal force arewell-satisfied when the assisting air is of sufficiently small quantityto have only a local, temporary inhibition on the centrifugal forceeffects.

Counterswirl is not essential in all cases as even a high velocity axialflow will minimize centrifuging to a marked extent because the strongaxial force thereby exerted on the fuel droplets inhibits centrifugingonly momentarily but long enough to provide time for ignition.

Rotation of the atomizing air in the same direction as the maincombustion air (coswirl) may even prove satisfactory when low viscosityfuels of high volatility are being burned.

In conditions where good atomization is obtained by virtue of the highvelocity swirling combustion air alone (as it might be with a relativelyhigh swirl air velocity and a relatively low viscosity fuel) theassisting atomizing air may be deleted and maximum flame stabilityobtained as a consequence.

The flexibility of operation thus provided by air assist is importantbecause of the additional control afforded over the fuel droplet sizeand the rate at and extent to which the fuel is subsequently mixed withthe main combustion air. For example, coswirl of this assisting airdemonstratably lowers NO_(x) generation at the expense of reduced flamestability while counterswirl significantly improves flame stability butresults in higher emissions.

That such extensive control can be exercised, especially over fueldroplet size, droplet centrifuge, and ignition delay, is entirelyunique. The prior art is replete with statements of the problemsencountered in scaling fuel droplet to the combustor size, especially insmall and downscaled combustors. The prior art also completely ignoresthe problem of fuel droplet placement and the need to avoid air dilutionof the hot recirculation gases.

As the atomized fuel continues through flame stratification zone 54, itis vaporized by a hereinafter described mechanism which is peculiar toCIVIC combustors.

At the downstream end of zone 54, the swirling or rotating stratifiedannulli of combustion air (at ca. 1250° R. in a simple cycle gas turbineof 16:1 pressure ratio) and coswirling vaporized fuel at ca. 3750° R. israpidly expanded into a combustion zone 61 by virtue of the increaseddiameter of downstream combustor section 26. This greatly reduces thecentrifugal forces of the swirl flow as, for the typical free vortex airflow, they are an inverse function of the cube of swirl flow radius.

Typically, the radius of section 26 will be 2.5 times the radius ofinjector 30. Consequently, the centrifugal forces will be reduced by afactor of approximately 16 as the swirling gases reach the upstream endof casing section 26. The increased diameter of the downstream combustorsection 26 can be made larger or smaller in diameter to respectivelyincrease or decrease the rate of fuel-air mixing or combustion. Ithereby effect a control over the rate of combustion that cannot beobtained in currently available combustors.

The rapid reduction of the centrifugal, swirl air force, another salientfeature of my invention, results in rapid mixing between the evaporatedfuel and combustion air. This is important in that it leads directly toefficient combustion and a short flame.

As shown in FIG. 1, the swirling fuel-air mass expands outwardly as itmoves downstream through the combustion zone to an extent limited by thedownstream casing section 26 of the combustor. Further downstream, theswirling or rotating gases contract inwardly as indicated by arrows 62;and the previously formed annulus ceases to exist although the rotationor swirl of the gases continues as indicated by arrow 64.

The aerodynamic flow mechanism just described results in the creation ofan inner recirculation zone 66, which is the main flame stabilizingmechanism in combustor 20, and an annular, outer recirculation zone 68.Hot gases flowing upstream in the inner recirculation zone 66 asindicated by arrows 70 and 72 ignite fuel atomized in the flamestratification zone 54. However, because mixing of the hot fuel and thecool combustion air is strongly inhibited by centrifugal force effects,only a small percentage of the fuel can be burned in the flamestratification zone, a key to flame stability and non-luminouscombustion.

Nevertheless, this limited combustion is sufficient to evaporate theremainder of the atomized fuel and raise it to a very high temperaturebecause the latent heat of evaporation of a liquid fuel is on the orderof only 130 BTU per pound while the heat of combustion is typically ca.18,500 BTU per pound.

Thus, the flame stratification zone represents an area for thegasification of the liquid fuel. This is a most unique and advantageousfeature as, in typical flames, fuel evaporation is of a most randomsort; occurs in all areas of the main combustion zone; and is, as aconsequence, mainly responsible for many deficiencies such as smoke,instability, combustion inefficiency, long flame, carbon build-up, hotwalls, high NO_(x), etc.

Evaporation of the atomized fuel results in the formation of a thinannulus 74 of hot, evaporated fuel at the inner boundary of the swirlingannulus of relatively cool combustion air. The fuel annulus rotates inunison with the annulus of combustion air as was pointed out above.

The high centrifugal forces acting on the swirling, hot vaporized fueland the cool swirling combustion air greatly inhibit the fuel's tendencyto move radially and mix with the combustion air until the end of theflame stratification zone is reached and fuel-air mixing is promoted bythe rapid decrease in the centrifugal force.

Downstream from flame stratification zone 54, the bulk of the fuel-aircombustion mixture burns in combustion zone 61. This burned fuel-airmixture supplies the hot gases necessary for ignition in the innerrecirculation zone 66 and the outer recirculation zone 68. The second ofthese ignition sources is, however, not critical in the stratifiedcharge operation of CIVIC combustors; and, as will be discussed below,there are advantages to be gained in certain circumstances byeliminating it.

The just described method of fuel injection, evaporation, and controlledstratification is of paramount importance because it results inexcellent flame stability and a non-luminous, blue flame typicallyobtained only by burning gas fuels.

I pointed out above that the amount of air supplied through combustionair annulus 34 may deliberately be kept below that sufficient to effectcomplete combustion of the fuel delivered through injector 30 as when amaximum range of stable operation is required or a fuel having a highfuel-bound nitrogen content is being burned. In these circumstances, theadditional air required to complete the combustion is supplied throughdilution air ports 76 as indicated by arrows 78 in a more-or-lessconventional manner. However, care must be taken in configuring, sizing,and locating these apertures so that the air supplied to the combustorthrough them will not penetrate to inner recirculation zone 66 as thatseriously deteriorates the quality of the flame. In typical gas turbinecombustor practice, such air ports are deliberately designed topenetrate into the inner recirculation zone. As a consequence,significant advantages of CIVIC combustion are lost.

As will become apparent hereinafter, many modifications may be made inthe exemplary CIVIC combustors disclosed herein without exceeding thescope of the present invention. A representative modification of thatcharacter which is particularly adaptable to injectors of the typeillustrated in FIG. 1 is the replacement of annular fuel distributionpassage 48 with an annular array of holes or slots opening onto externalinjector surface 49 and preferably skewed to swirl the fuel in the samedirection as the combustion air supplied through passage 34. Othermodifications of a comparable character will be described hereinafter.

Gas turbine engine applications of my invention have to some extent beenemphasized above.

FIG. 3, in this respect, illustrates a so-called radial gas turbineengine 80 equipped in accord with the principles of the presentinvention with the CIVIC combustor 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Engine 80 is a commercially available, Solar Turbines InternationalGemini. It will, accordingly, be described herein only to the extentnecessary for an understanding of the present invention.

Engine 80 includes a casing 82 housing a single stage radial compressor84 and a radial, single stage turbine 86 mounted in back-to-backrelationship on shaft 88. The compressor-turbine-shaft assembly isrotatably supported in casing 82 by bearings 90 (only one of which isshown).

Combustor 20 is supported from casing 82 on the downstream side ofturbine 86 in an auxillary housing 91.

Air enters casing 82 through an annular inlet 92 at its upstream end andflows in an axial direction past vanes 94 into compressor 84.

The compressor discharges the air through a passage 95 between casing 82and an inner jacket 96 past diffuser vanes 98 into an annular passage100 between combustor 20 and auxillary casing 91.

Part of this air flows into the main combustion air passage throughinlet 36 as indicated by arrows 104, and the remainder flows into thecombustor through secondary or dilution air ports 76 as indicated byarrows 106 when air in more-or-less sufficient quantities for completecombustion passes through inlet 36. Where insufficient air for completecombustion is supplied through inlet 36, additional air in an amountsufficient to complete combustion is supplied through air ports 76; and,ordinarily, an additional set of air ports is provided furtherdownstream to dilute the hot combusted gases to acceptable temperatures.Additional air may also be supplied as necessary, as is typicalpractice, to cool the combustor walls.

Fuel is supplied through line 44, and an ignitor 108 is provided toignite the fuel at light-off.

Thereafter, the combustor operates as described above.

The hot gases generated in combustor 20 are discharged into an annularplenum 110 and flow from the latter through nozzle ring 112 into turbine86 to drive the latter as indicated by arrows 114.

Gases discharged from the turbine are exhausted through a manifold 116as indicated by arrows 118 and 120.

By virtue of the foregoing, turbine 86 drives compressor 84 and, inaddition, generates additional energy which is available at shaft 88.

Another important advantage of my invention, especially in turbineengine applications such as that just described, is that, with onlyminor modifications, a combustor as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 may bemade to operate in either a premixed lean or a fuel rich low emissionmode of operation as well as in the stratified mode discussed above.This is most important in the case of premixed lean combustion becauseefficient premixed lean combustion is ordinarily restricted to arelatively narrow operating range near the design point whereas my novelcombustors are capable of efficiently operating over a wide range in thestratified charge mode. Consequently, combustors of the character inquestion can be operated in the stratified charge mode in light-off,part load, and other off-design conditions and then switched to the lowemission mode at full load and other near-design point conditions totake advantage of the reduced emissions this provides.

Such staged or dual mode operation can also be employed when premixedrich combustion is employed to reduce NO_(x). While premixed leancombustion has air in excess of that required for complete combustionsupplied through swirl annulus 34, premix rich combustion has adeficiency of combustion air thus supplied. The additional air requiredto complete the combustion is added downstream in a manner which keepsit from entering the recirculatory ignition zone or zones.

Dual stage combustors have heretofore been proposed. Invariably,however, they have required two sets of fuel injectors and two fuelinjection systems. This both introduces unwanted complexity and makesthe system expensive to manufacture and service. Dual injector sets aremade unnecessary by the present invention.

A dual stage combustor of the character just described which embodiesthe principles of the present present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4and identified by reference character 124.

Combustor 124 differs from combustor 20 primarily in that its injector126 has a second, annular, radially and axially extending slot 128through which air is discharged to drive the combustor into the lowemission operating mode. Equiangularly spaced, radially extending swirlvanes 130 are disposed in slot 128 to impart a swirl or tangentialcomponent to the air.

Air is delivered to discharge slot 128 through a central passage 131 inan amount which is a small fraction of that required for completecombustion but typically greater than the amount required for assistingfuel atomization.

Atomizing air is, in this combustor, supplied through a concentric,annular passage 132 surrounding passage 131.

For air at the same pressure, temperature, and velocity, a sizing ofannuli 34, 58, and 128 that results in mass flows in the approximateproportions of 92 to 1.2 to 6.8 is satisfactory.

In the low emission mode of operation, combustor 124 operates likecombustor 20 except that the air discharged through inner slot 128 formsa swirling or rotating annulus 134 which isolates the hot gases inrecirculation zone 66 from the fuel. The atomization assisting air(typically only used in the stratified charge mode) is switched off, andfuel atomization assistance is provided by the air discharged throughslots 128.

At the downstream end 32 of injector 126, the atomized fuel immediatelybegins to centrifuge outwardly into the combustion air supplied throughpassage 34, evaporating and mixing with the latter because immediateignition and consequent stratification is not obtained. Furtherdownstream, as the annulus of combustion air expands, and thecentrifugal force on the fuel is relaxed, the fuel moves outward andinward, the latter mixing with the air discharged through slot 128.

The mechanisms just described result in the formation of a premixedannulus of evaporated fuel and combustion air identified by referencecharacter 136.

This mixture is ignited at axial location 138 by the hot gasescirculating in outer recirculation zone 68 and at location 140 by thehot gases in the inner recirculation zone 66 represented schematicallyin the drawing.

Thus, in the low emission mode of operation, ignition of the fuel is"retarded" whereas, in the stratified charge mode of operation, ignitionof the fuel is "advanced". Such precise control of the ignition point isa unique and most advantageous feature and is of remarkable simplicity.

In the low emission mode of operation, the hot, swirling and burninggases are adjacent to the relatively cool, swirling, combustion air. Thehigh, centrifugally induced forces attributable to the densitydifferences between these gases consequentially cause the flame torapidly converge inwardly downstream from ignition point 138 as shown byarrows 142.

From ignition at station 140, the centrifugal forces inhibiting flamespread are high enough that the flame slowly moves out and downstream asshown by arrows 144.

The mechanism of flame propagation in the premixed mode is neverthelesssimilar to that in the stratified charge mode. Flame propagation iscontrolled by turbulence modified by the centrifugal force effects ofinward and outward flame propagation. This is very important as it iscommonly (and erroneously) stated and assumed in the prior art thatpremixed flame propagation is controlled by chemical reaction criteriawhich is difficult to scale. Flame propagation dominantly controlled byturbulence, i.e. by aerodynamic means, is in contrast relatively easy toscale following simple geometric proportioning.

There are circumstances, particularly in very large combustors, whenreaction rate criteria can influence design because autoignition canoccur. This problem, if encountered, can be solved by using morecombustors of smaller size. Autoignition is unlikely in typicalcombustors as the mechanism of premixing is unusually speedy.

The centrifugal force effects discussed above are important because theyguarantee a very short flame even under the slow burning, lowtemperature conditions that exist when excess combustion air issupplied. Thus, the very slow combustion typical of a premixed leanflame can be avoided.

Operation of a combustor as shown in FIG. 4 in the low emission moderesults in a non-luminous flame with barely preceptible blueness, whichis desirable and ordinarily most difficult to obtain when burning liquidfuels.

Furthermore, a combustor of the type illustrated in FIG. 4 has ademonstratable turndown (maximum to minimum fuel flow at a fixed airflow) ratio from excessive NO_(x) production to flameout of more thantwo when used in the premixed lean mode. This is near the theoreticallimit and is much greater than is typically obtained in premixed leancombustors.

Most often, swirl vanes 130 are oriented to rotate the air dischargedfrom slot 128 is more-or-less the same direction, and at generally thesame velocity, as the air supplied through combustion air annulus 34.This minimizes turbulent shear and hence conserves air. Considerablelatitude is often permitted in this regard, however; and the air can bedischarged in a downstream direction without swirl or even rotated in acounterswirl direction to delay the premixing of the air and fuel if thecircumstances dictate. Also, the formation of the swirl annulus whichisolates the inner recirculation zone and prevents fuel stratificationcan be outboard, rather than inboard, of the fuel atomizing air althoughthis will typically prove less efficient.

To switch between the low emission and stratified charge modes ofoperation, provision must be made for shutting off the supply of air tothe central injector passage 131. A system for accomplishing this isshown installed in a schematically illustrated, axial flow, gas turbineengine 146 in FIG. 5.

That engine includes, in addition to combustor 124, a schematicallyillustrated compressor 148 and turbine section 150, all housed in casing152.

At full load or near design point operation, compressor discharge air issupplied to main combustion air passage 34 as indicated by arrows 154and to passage 131 through a schematically illustrated passage 156 whichmight, in actual practice, be within the outer confines of the turbinecasing. Compressor discharge air for aiding atomization is supplied whennecessary to passage 132 in injector 126 through similarly illustratedpassage 158.

In the low emission mode of operation, valve 160 in passage 156 is open,and valve 162 in passage 158 is closed; and the combustor operates inthe low emission mode discussed above to heat the compressor dischargeair and supply hot gases to turbine section 150 which drives thecompressor and provides power at output shaft 163.

Under part load or light-off conditions, valve 160 is closed and valve162 opened, instantaneously switching the combustor to the stratifiedcharge mode of operation discussed above in conjunction with combustor20.

Another desirable feature incorporated in turbine engine 146 is an airassist system including a pump 164 connected through a normally closedvalve 166 and passage 168 to atomizing air supply passage 158.

In marginal operating conditions such as light-off, the compressordischarge pressure is typically lower than that needed for adequateatomization of the fuel. In this case, valve 162 can be closed, valve166 opened, and pump 164 actuated to make atomizing air available to thecombustor at the wanted pressure for starting in the stratified chargemode. As the engine comes up to speed, the positioning of the valves maybe reversed and compressor discharge air employed to assist in atomizingthe fuel. Or, if a viscous, non-volatile fuel is being burned, the airassist pump may be left in operation to insure adequate atomization ofthe fuel.

It was pointed out above that combustor 124 has a heretoforeunattainable range of low emission operation.

Even this increased range of operation may be significantly extended tohigher air-fuel ratios by modulating the flow of air through innerpassage 131 and discharged through annular slot 128 and the flow of airthrough passage 132 and discharged through slot 58. This may beaccomplished in an engine as shown in FIG. 5, for example, if valves 160and 162 are butterfly or other modulating type valves.

Specifically, with valve 160 open and valve 162 closed, the centrifugingof the atomized fuel and the mixing of that fuel with the combustion airis maximized. Then, with a reduction of engine power from design point,as valve 160 is closed and valve 162 opened, the centrifuging effect onthe fuel is reduced, especially if counterswirl of the assistingatomizing air and of main combustion air is employed; and the premixingof the air and fuel is consequently reduced; but premixing andconsequent low emissions nevertheless exist over a range considerablybeyond the typical low emission turndown ratio of two.

The combustors of the present invention thus far described have employedaxial swirlers. This is not essential, however, as there are variousways of generating swirl; and additional advantages may even be gainedby employing radial inflow swirlers as shown in the combustor 172illustrated in FIG. 6.

That combustor has a cylindrical casing including an outer section 176;a centrally apertured, radially inwardly extending section or dome 178;and an inner, tubular section 180 which extends downstream from dome 178to the combustion zone 61 within outer casing section 176.

The combustor also includes an injector 182 which may be of any of theseveral types described herein.

Combustor inner casing section 180 and injector 182 are arranged in thesame physical relationship and cooperate in the same manner as theinjector 30 and upstream casing section 24 do in combustor 20 to form alongitudinally extending, combustion air flow passage 184.

Air is supplied to annular passage 184 through an inwardly extending,annular passage 186 formed principally by combustor dome 178 and aradially oriented member 188 spaced upstream from the dome andsurrounding injector 182 at its inner periphery. An annular array ofequiangularly spaced swirl vanes 190 is mounted in, and spans, passage186.

The wanted swirl or rotational component is imparted to the air enteringpassage 186 through inlet 192 by these vanes. The air then flows intopassage 184 and moves downstream, typically but not necessarily in freevortex flow, in the form of a swirling or rotating annulus as in theembodiments of my invention described above.

The air supply arrangement just described has the advantage that,without expenditure of additional energy, the combustion air can beemployed to keep the hot gases in outer recirculation zone 68 fromoverheating combustor dome 178. In the previously described combustors,in contrast, additional provision may have to be made for cooling thecomparable structural parts of combustors 20 and 124.

At the same time, the combustion air passage forming section or wall 180will be heated to a temperature well below its structural limit(typically 1200° F.) but hot enough to insure that any fuelinadvertantly centrifuged out through the combustion air annulus, as mayoccur during marginal operating conditions, will be burnt off. Thisprevents deleterious carbon build-up, a typical major combustor problem.

Aside from the foregoing, the modus operandi of combustor 172 is aspreviously described (while a stratified charge mode of operation isshown, it will be obvious to the reader that low emission capability canbe provided simply by providing an appropriate injector).

The deleterious build-up of carbon deposits can also be avoided in amanner similar to that just described in a combustor employing an axial,rather than radial inward, swirl flow.

A combustor 196 of that character, shown in FIG. 7, has a cylindrical,outer housing or casing 198 terminating in an inclined, radiallyinwardly extending dome 200 at its upstream end. A tubular component202, which corresponds to the upstream casing section 24 of thosecombustors illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, extends through dome 200 to thecombustion zone 61 of the combustor.

An injector 206, housed within tube 202, cooperates with the latter toform an annular, main combustion air flow passage 208 comparable to theflow passage 34 of combustors 20 and 124. Swirl vanes 209 are disposedin this passage adjacent the inlet 210 at its upstream end.

As will be apparent from FIG. 7, the recirculating hot gases in outerrecirculation zone 68 heat that part of combustion air tube 202downstream from dome 200. In a manner closely allied to that employed incombustor 172, this prevents fuel, centrifuging out through the annulusof combustion air in passage 208 as a consequence of inadequatestratification, from building up carbon deposits on structuralcomponents of the combustor. At the same time the combustion air flowingthrough component 202 keeps it from being overheated.

The injector 206 of combustor 196 provides both stratified charge andlow emission modes of operation like the injector 126 of combustor 124.Structurally, however, it differs considerably from the latter.

Specifically, injector 206 includes a cylindrical central member 212surrounded by a cylindrical outer member 214. The latter has abell-shaped configuration at its forward or downstream end 216. The bellshape of the downstream injector end is not critical. What is requiredis a smoothly flowing surface from the annular fuel passage to the endof the injector which will not violently change the direction, and hencecause disruption, of the fuel film.

Located between the outer and central members 214 and 212 of injector206 are annular fuel, atomizing air, and stratification zone shut-offair passages 218, 220 and 222. Those passages are spanned by swirl vanes224, 226, and 228, respectively.

Despite the differences in structure just described, the modus operandiof injector 206 is much like that of injector 126; and, a typical sizingof these varied air flow flow annuli which provides satisfactory resultsis when the air flow through these annuli, at the same pressure,temperature, and velocity, results in respective mass flows in the sameapproximate proportions as in injector 126.

Fuel delivered through annular fuel passage 218 is formed into a thinfilm 230 on the bell-like downstream portion 216 of the injector, at theinner boundary of the swirling combustion air annulus formed incombustion air passage 208, by coswirling air supplied through annulus220.

Formation of the fuel film can also be promoted in injector 206 byorienting swirl vanes 224 to produce coswirl between the fuel and themain combustion air stream.

The fuel is atomized by the main combustion air discharged at highvelocity from annular passage 208 at the common axial location where thefuel is discharged; viz., at the upstream end of the bell-shaped section216 of the outer injector component.

In the stratified mode of operation shown in FIG. 7, the fuel is thusvery precisely located along the combustion air annulus and sandwichedbetween the latter and the hot gases in inner recirculation zone 66 asin the previously described embodiments of the invention.

If sufficient fuel pressure is available to provide fuel swirl, the flowof air through annulus 220 needed to promote formation of the fuel filmcan be reduced or eliminated. This enhances flame stability as theabsence of fuel filming air promotes the instantaneous ignition thatproduces stability. Thus, the use of fuel pressure to swirl and providea thin fuel film is an advantageous feature of this injector.

In the low emission mode of operation, air introduced through theinnermost annular passage 222 and, when used, the air assist thatpromotes the filming, shuts off (or isolates) the inner recirculationzone 66 from the atomized fuel, delays fuel ignition, and thus effects apremixture of the fuel and combustion air and subsequent combustion ofthe latter in a manner akin to that discussed previously.

There are conditions which best effect the low emission mode ofoperation and are applicable to all injectors of the type justdescribed. Coswirl of the fuel film assist air with the main combustionair and fuel pressure swirled fuel best promote the proper functioningof the air supplied through inner passage 222, especially if the latterswirls in a similar direction. If a low emission mode is not required,passage 222 can be deleted and the fuel pressure and fuel film assistair both swirled contra to the main combustion air swirl to promotemaximum shear for best stratification if such is needed.

Air assist supplied through passage 220 as from an air pump inconditions such as light-off can also be used to particular advantage ininjectors of the type shown in FIG. 7 because the wanted fuel film 230may otherwise be difficult to form. This method of forming the fuel filmin the absence of significant fuel pressure to generate it is a uniquefeature not used in present combustor designs.

When low emission premix operation is required, valves and ducting asschematically shown in FIG. 5 can be employed to make the combustorcapable of functioning in the wanted manner discussed above.

A combustor like that shown in FIG. 7 but with air assist to furtherpromote fuel atomization is shown in FIG. 8 and identified by referencecharacter 236.

The injector 238 of combustor 236 is similar to the injector 206 justdiscussed; but it has a second, axially inclined, annular, atomizing airdischarge slot 240 opening onto its outer surface near or at thedownstream end 242 of the injector. Air can be discharged through slot240 alone, or in addition to that exiting from annular slot 220, topromote the atomization of fuel delivered through annular passage 218.This is particularly advantageous in marginal conditions such aslight-off and when viscous, difficult-to-atomize fuels are being burned.

For air at the same pressure, temperature, and velocity, a sizing ofannuli, 208, 240, 220, and 222 that results in mass flows in theapproximate proportions of 89.5 to 2.7 to 1.2 to 6.6 is satisfactory.

The provision for a second, overlying or encompassing annulus ofatomizing air is especially exploitable when provided in associationwith air assist in gas turbine engine applications, for example.

During start-up, primary, or underlying, atomizing air is supplied frompump 164 through valve 166 and external passage or line 244 to atomizingair injector passage 220; and the secondary, overlying, atomizing air ispumped from external passage 244 through an axially extending, internalpassage 246 in the injector to discharge slot 240.

Thereafter, unless a viscous fuel is being burned, the pump is typicallyshut down, valve 166 closed, and valve 162 opened. This results incompressor discharge air being supplied to the inner, atomizing airdischarge slot 220 via external passages 248 and 249 and to the outboarddischarge slot 240 via external and internal passages 248 and 246. Inconditions where sufficient fuel pressure is used to generate a thinfuel film 230 in normal engine operation the elimination of air throughpassageways 240 and 220 will not deteriorate fuel atomization and willmaximize flame stability.

Annular discharge slot 240 is preferably configured to direct the highvelocity air exiting from it axially downstream with no swirl as thispromotes the formation of the wanted small fuel droplets. This alsomomentarily inhibits outward movement of the atomized fuel bycentrifuging. This, as has been emphasized, is important in achievingignition and subsequent stratification, thus further enhancing flameperformance.

Such axial delivery of this second stream of atomizing air is notessential, however; and it can be supplied in co- or counterswirlingrelationship to the main combustion air flowing through passage 208 tocontrol such parameters as fuel droplet size and the mixing of the fueland combustion air.

For example, coswirling of the main combustion air, the fuel, and theair discharged through passages 240 and 220 promotes mixing of the fuelwith the main combustion air, reducing the generation of NO_(x) butdecreasing flame stability. This is, as described in conjunction withthe injector shown in FIG. 7, most effective for the premix mode whenadditional coswirl air through passage 222 is required.

Conversely, by rotating the two streams of atomizing air and the fuel inthe opposite direction to the main combustion air, improved flamestability can be obtained at the expense of an increased tendency towardNO_(x) formation. This makes for less efficient operation in the premixmode.

For low emission operation additional ducting and valves must besupplied to control air supplied through passage 222. The system shownschematically in FIG. 5 is suitable for this purpose.

Combustor 236 additionally differs from combustor 196 in that it has aunitary casing 250 with a relatively small diameter upstream section 252and a larger diameter downstream section 254 joined by an outwardly andaxially extending transition section or dome 256.

In combustors 196 and 236 a stratified flame mixes out so rapidly thatcombustion is completed before the swirling outward flow is constrainedby the walls 198 and 254 of those combustors. This assures that hot gasrecirculation 68 will occur.

By reducing the diameter of the combustor wall at a downstream locationthe centrifugal force can be increased and combustion delayed so thathot combustion products will not contact the combustor walls until somedistance downstream. This eliminates hot gas recirculation 68 andtherefore eliminates cooling problems of the wall in that region. Suchtechniques can be used both for stratified and premixed combustion atthe expense of an increase in flame length.

The feature described above is particularly applicable in the stratifiedcharge mode of operation in which ignition from the outer recirculationzone 68 is essentially unneeded and contributes little. In the lowemission mode, in contrast, the outer recirculation zone, though notessential, does play a significant role in minimizing the length of theflame. Consequently, in applications where premix and/or low emissionoperation is required, or desired, cognizance must be taken of thecompeting considerations just discussed.

One final distinction between combustors 236 and 196 is the substitutionof the sheet metal closure 260 in combustor 236 for the central body 212of combustor 196. This is primarily of structural significance and doesnot affect the operation of the combustor as described above.

Referring again to the drawing, FIG. 9 depicts a combustor 264 whichconceptually differs from combustor 236 in that radial swirl inflowrather than axial flow of the main combustor air is employed. Fuelinjection is as previously described.

Structurally, combustor 264 differs from combustor 236 primarily in themodification of the combustor casing and in the addition of an annularlyextending closure component 266 to form an inwardly extending,combustion flow passage 268 in which swirl vanes 270 are disposed. Thispassage communicates with axially extending combustion air passage 208in a manner akin to that shown in FIG. 6.

Component 266 also transitions into an axially extending portion 272which surrounds the downstream section of injector 274 to form anaxially extending annular passage 276 and an annular discharge slot 278for an outboard stream of atomizing air. This also results in the outermember 280 of the injector being of a somewhat different, simplerconstruction.

Assist air is supplied in essentially the same manner as in combustor236.

Compressor discharge air flows from an annular plenum 282 into theradially inwardly extending section of the main combustion air passageand, through schematically illustrated passages 248 and 249, to thesecondary and primary atomization air discharge slots 278 and 220.

Various techniques for delivering the fuel through the injector to formand precisely locate a fuel of film, all employing an essentiallycontinuous annular fuel discharge slot, or an annular array of commonlyconnected slots, were illustrated and/or discussed above. Thosearrangements are not essential, however; and fuel delivery systeminvolving an annular series of independent tubes or slots can instead beemployed in any of the combustors described herein.

An injector with a fuel delivery arrangement of that character isillustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 and identified by reference character290.

Injector 290 has an outer body 292 of the configuration shown in FIGS.7, 8 and 9.

Axially (or longitudinally) extending passages 294 are formed in and atmore-or-less equiangularly spaced locations around this outer injectorcomponent.

At their upstream ends, passages 294 communicate with a fuel supplymanifold (not shown).

The downstream ends of passages 294 communicate with radial, inwardlyextending passages 296 which open onto the inner surface 298 of injectorcomponent 292.

As shown in FIG. 11, these passages are preferably oriented at a shallowangle to a tangent through the inner surface 298 of outer injectorcomponent 292. This provides a rotational component to the fuel exitingfrom those passages, thereby promoting the formation of a uniform film300 on surface 298.

As shown by the injector 304 illustrated in FIG. 12, the radiallyextending passages, in this case identified by reference character 306,can also be angled toward the downstream end 308 of the injector.

Fuel delivery systems of the type illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12 areparticularly advantageous when using fuels with high vaporpressures--ethane and propane, for example.

Specifically, by appropriately restricting the size of fuel dischargepassages 296 and 306, the fuel pressure can be kept high enough tosignificantly inhibit the formation of fuel vapor ahead of thosepassages and instead raise the velocity of the fuel discharged from themand thereby enhance the formation of the fuel film. Thus, under marginalconditions where air assist might otherwise be required to achieve afuel film with low vapor pressure liquid fuels, it might often not beneeded.

A fuel film zone of appropriate length becomes particularly importantwhen fuel distribution schemes of the type shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 areemployed because the fuel is placed at discrete locations around thesurface on which the film is formed rather than continuously around it.Formation of a thin, uniform film can nevertheless be effected withflame stratification zones of the dimensions discussed above.

Thus far, the description of my invention has centered around theoperation of CIVIC combustors on liquid fuels.

Such combustors, particularly those with fuel injectors of the characterillustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7 to 12, have the advantage that they canequally well be operated on gas fuels in the stratified chargecombustion mode. Excellent flame performance is obtained.

It is a singular advantage that the air supply passages of suchinjectors (particularly that required for the low emission mode ofliquid fuel operation) can be used with appropriate valves and ducts tosupply a gaseous fuel instead of air in the stratified charge operatingmode.

Specifically, and as an example, because gases do not suffer thecentrifuging problems of liquid fuels, the gas may be delivered throughthe annular slot 58 employed for low emission capability in the injector126 of combustor 124 or through the corresponding passages of the laterdescribed combustors, preferably in coswirl relationship with the maincombustion air. Thus, the gaseous fuel follows the same path through thecombustor as the liquid fuel. Consequent to this likeness in paths, theflame performance differences between liquid and gas fuels are unusuallysmall.

Furthermore, because the low density of typical gas fuels inhibitssignificant centrifuge an unusually excellent flame stability is typicaleven when burning difficult-to-burn, low BTU content gases, a benefit ofdecided importance.

This excellent performance on gas fuels of a CIVIC combustor isimportant as it allows room for major compromises with other desideratawithout significantly comprising performance.

Alternatively, the gas may be delivered through the structure providedin a CIVIC combustor fuel injector to supply assisting atomizing air asordinarily used during liquid fuel stratified charge operation againpreferably, but by no means necessarily, in coswirl relationship to thecombustion air.

Because the passage or slots through which the assisting atomizing airis supplied for stratified charge liquid operation will typically bemuch smaller than those air passages employed to furnish low emissioncapability, a disadvantageously higher fuel pressure may be required ifthe gas fuel is supplied through the atomizing air system. This isparticularly true when low BTU content gas fuels are being burnedbecause of the high fueling rates required.

On the other hand, the just discussed gaseous fuel supply arrangementhas the advantage that, particularly at high fueling rates, the velocityof the gas discharged from the injector is high because of the high fuelpressures involved. This promotes mixing of the fuel and main combustionair thus tending to produce a premixed combustion mode. This, as aconsequence, inhibits the formation of NO_(x) at the sacrifice of flamestability.

The just described result generally obtains irrespective of whetherthere is a coswirl or counterswirl relationship between the gas fuel andthe combustion air and even if the fuel is simply injected axially ontothe inner boundary of the swirling annulus of combustion air.

That high gaseous fuel rates may result in some decrease in flamestability is likewise not necessarily a disadvantage. Typically, thisrequirement for flame stability will become a problem only in off-designconditions such as light-off or part load operation; and, during suchconditions, the required fuel rates are much lower. Under thesecircumstances the mixing of the fuel and air is greatly reduced becausethe gas is discharged from the injector at reduced velocity. Thisimproves flame stability, which may accordingly cease to be a problem.

CIVIC combustors may also employ conventional premix fuel injection inaddition to, or in lieu of, those fuel injection techniques discussedabove.

A combustor 312 with that mode of operation is illustrated in FIG. 13.

Combustor 312 is similar to the combustor 20 first described above butdiffers from the latter by the substitution of a central body or member314 for the injector 30 of combustor 20 and by the addition of a systemfor injecting a gaseous or atomized liquid fuel into the upstream end ofcombustion air supply passage 34 and causing it to mix with the swirlingannulus of air flowing through passage 34.

One fuel injector 316 is shown schematically in FIG. 13. In actualpractice, an annular array of equiangularly spaced injectors wouldtypically be employed.

Those skilled in the arts to which this description is addressed wouldbe familiar with appropriate injectors and with suitable fuelpreparation systems. For that reason, those components of combustor 312will not be described in detail herein.

As will be apparent to the reader from the text to date and from FIG.13, the operation of combustor 312 involves principles of the inventiondeveloped earlier in that a swirling or rotating annulus of combustionair, in this case premixed with fuel, is rapidly expanded into acombustion zone (318 in FIG. 13) where evaporation of the fuel andmixing with air may be completed. This mixture is ignited as it reachescombustion zone 318 by the hot gases in inner and outer circulationzones 66 and 68 which are generated in the manner discussed above.

The premix fuel injection mode of operation eases combustor wall coolingproblems and improves combustor exit temperature distributions. Inaddition, emissions can be kept low.

A potential disadvantage of conventional premix fuel injection is atendency toward autoignition which produces flashback fire andconsequent destruction of the combustor. A most important feacture ofCIVIC combustors is that, in contrast, premix of fuel in the lowemission mode (as typically shown in FIG. 4) will not cause destructionof the combustor in the event of premature ignition or flashback becausethe fuel and air is premixed in the combustor proper rather than aheadof the combustor. It will instead merely raise the emission of NO_(x).

One other disadvantage of premix fuel injection, at least in fixedgeometry industrial gas turbine engine applications, is insufficientlean flame stability to provide a satisfactory range of operation. Thisdisadvantage can be overcome, at the cost of increased complexity, byincorporating adjustable combustion air swirl vanes into the combustor.

Particularly advantageous when premix injection of an atomized liquidfuel is being employed is the radial inflow swirl arrangement shown inFIGS. 6 and 9.

Injection of the atomized fuel into a radial inward air swirl results invery efficient evaporation because the centrifugal swirl flow forcesprevent large fuel droplets from escaping into the combustion zone untilthey have evaporated to a smaller size.

The central body or member 314 of the combustor 312 shown in FIG. 13 canbe advantageously, and readily, replaced by injector 30 of combustor 20or any other injector of a like sort.

Specifically, when flame stratification zone 54 is relatively short, thesecond, smaller, inner recirculatory ignition zone 319 shown in FIG. 13becomes one with the larger recirculatory zone 66. However, if thelength of zone 54 is increased to approximately the diameter of thecentral body or injector (two times D/2), a separate hot gasrecirculation zone is formed. This is advantageous in that, inconditions such as lowered fuel flow when ignition zone 66 might berelatively cool, ignition zone 319 may nevertheless be relatively hot,thereby providing an improvement in flame stability.

This advantage is gained at a price. Where stratification of the fuelmight be difficult, as in lighting off a heavy, non-volatile liquidfuel, a short zone 54 is advantageous because that assures highcombustion efficiency through minimizing the time available for dropletcentrifuge.

Another advantage of a lengthened zone 54 is independent of CIVICcombustors and instead gained in a conventional combustor using jetstirred recirculation. The recirculation zone 319 is isolated from suchjet stirred recirculation. This provides a fuel evaporation zone of thecharacter found in CIVIC combustors with consequent advantages in termsof reduced smoke and improved flame stability, all without significantredesign of the combustor.

The CIVIC combustors thus far described have been of can configuration;and they can, of course, be employed as such or in can-annular orannular systems.

That the principles of the present invention may also be applied toaxisymmetric combustors is made apparent by FIG. 14 in which a CIVICcombustor of that configuration is identified by reference character320.

Combustor 320 includes a cylindrical outer casing 322, an inner casing324, a liner 326 surrounding the inner casing, and an annular injector328 surrounding the latter. The foregoing components are all arranged inconcentric relationship as shown in FIG. 14.

Outer casing 322, which is similar in configuration to the casing 198illustrated in FIG. 7, has a relatively large diameter downstreamsection 330 terminating in a dome 332 at its upstream end. It alsoincludes an upstream section 334 which extends through the dome into thecombustion zone in combustor 320 to promote the cooling of structuralcomponents in the manner discussed above in conjunction with thecombustor 196 of FIG. 7.

Inner casing 324 has upstream, transition, and downstream sections 336,338, and 340 which parallel the upstream section 334, dome 332, anddownstream section 330 of the outer casing.

Inner liner 326, which cooperates with the inner casing to form anannular, secondary air passage 342, parallels the upstream andtransition sections of the inner liner. At its downstream end the innerliner terminates at the cylindrical locus bounding the downstreamsection 340 of inner casing 324.

Injector 328 includes an inner wall formed by the upstream portion ofinner liner 326 and a concentric, cylindrical outer wall 343. The innerand outer walls are spanned by radially oriented, upstream anddownstream end walls 344 and 346 and a similarly configured and orientedpartition 348 spaced upstream from the latter.

Liquid fuel is supplied to combustor 320 from an external fuel line 350through a valve 352, a manifold (not shown), and an annular array ofbranch fuel lines 354 (one shown). These may be configured and arrangedin the same manner as the fuel delivery passage system 294, 296 of theinjector 290 illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11.

Atomizing air is supplied through one or more lines 356 which deliverthe air to the annular injector plenum 358 between partition 348 anddownstream end wall 346. This air is discharged at high velocity fromplenum 358 through orifices 360 surrounding branch liquid fuel deliverylines 354.

Like those embodiments of my invention described previously, combustor320 is designed to generate swirling or rotating annuli of stratifiedcombustion and fuel atomizing air around a film of liquid fuel. Theannular, combustion air passage of combustor 320 provided for thispurpose is bounded by the outer wall 343 of injector 328 and theupstream section 334 of combustor outer casing 322 and is identified byreference character 362. Swirl vanes 364 of the character describedabove impart the wanted rotational component to the air flowing throughthis passage.

Operation of combustor 320 in the illustrated, stratified charge modefollows the pattern discussed above in conjunction with the combustors20 of FIG. 1 and 196 of FIG. 7 except that the inner recirculation zone366 is formed by (and confined between) the swirling annulus of burninggases 368 and inner liner 326 rather than by the construction andultimate collapse of the annulus as in the previously described canconfigured combustors.

The outer recirculation zone 68 is formed in the same manner as, andduplicates that generated in, a can type CIVIC combustor.

As indicated above, secondary or dilution air can be supplied throughannular passage 342 for the purposes discussed above in conjunction withthe description of combustor 20. Delivery of the air in this manner hasthe added advantage that it cools those parts of the inner liner 326contacted by the hot gases in inner recirculation zone 366, therebyprotecting them against overheating.

Combustor 320 may be readily modified to provide a low emission mode ofoperation in addition to the illustrated stratified charge mode. Allthis requires is a modification to the injector, comparable to thosediscussed above, for generating an annulus of air in the regionindicated by reference character 370 to shut off or isolate the hotgases in inner recirculation zones 366 and 319 from the swirling annulusof hot, evaporated fuel generated in flame stratification zone 54.

Combustor 320 also has dual fuel capability; that is, it can be operatedon gas as well as liquid fuels. Gas fuels are supplied through a line374 and a valve 376 to a second annular plenum 378 in injector 328between its upstream end wall 344 and partition 348. The gas fuel isdischarged from this plenum through an annular array of orifices 380 inouter injector wall 343 into the annular combustion air passage 362 asindicated by arrow 382.

Also, a system of the type illustrated in FIG. 5 can, with only minorand obvious modifications, be employed to switch the just discussedmodification of combustor 320 between low emission and stratified chargemodes of operation.

Many modifications may be made in the illustrated systems within what Iconsider the purview of my invention. For example, low emission and dualfuel capabilities can be provided on an across-the-board basis; andadjustable combustion air swirl vanes can be used to improve lean flamestability on a similar basis.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription; and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:
 1. Amethod of effecting the stable, nonluminous combustion of a liquid fuelwhich comprises the steps of: generating an annulus of axially moving,rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on theinner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion aironly after said film has been formed on the inner boundary of saidannulus and so as to form a stratified annulus of small fuel dropletswhich resist centrifuging into the swirling annulus of combustion air;thereafter rapidly expanding said stratified annuli of combustion airand fuel droplets to promote the mixing and subsequent combustion ofsaid fuel and air and then so effecting a downstream contraction of theswirling fuel-air mass as to effect the formation of a recirculationzone containing hot gases which stabilize the flame generated by thecombustion of the fuel and air and so ignite the fuel as to effectevaporation and heating of the fuel before said stratified annuli ofatomized fuel and rotating combustion air are rapidly expanded topromote the mixing of said fuel with the combustion air.
 2. A method ofeffecting combustion as defined in claim 1 in which the atomization ofthe fuel is furthered by directing an independent stream of atomizationassist air into contact with said film of fuel, said atomization assistair being directed into contact with said fuel only after the thin,stratified film of said fuel has been formed on the inner boundary ofthe rotating annulus of combustion air.
 3. A method of effectingcombustion as defined in claim 2 in which a rotational componentopposing that of the rotating annulus of combustion air is so impartedto said fuel atomization assist air as to increase the resistance tocentrifuging of the atomized fuel from the stratified annulus thereofinto the rotating annulus of combustion air.
 4. A method of effectingcombustion as defined in claim 1 wherein annular rotation is imparted tosaid fuel prior to the forming of said film of fuel on the innerboundary of the annulus of combustion air.
 5. A method of effectingcombustion as defined in claim 1 which includes the step of soconfiguring the outer boundary of the annulus of combustion air thatonly a single recirculation zone surrounded by said flame is generated.6. A method of effecting combustion as defined in claim 1 wherein thecontraction of the fuel-air mass is effected in part by contact betweenthe inner side of the swirling fuel-air mass and a component of thecombustor in which the method is carried out.
 7. A method of effectingcombustion as defined in claim 1 wherein the formation of two innerrecirculation zones having an upstream-downstream relationship iseffected to promote the ignition of the fuel-air mixture.
 8. A method ofeffecting combustion as defined in claim 1 in which the combustion airis, prior to combustion of the fuel, caused to flow in heat transferrelationship to at least one component of the combustor in which themethod is carried out that is subject to overheating to thereby protectsaid component from overheating.
 9. A method of effecting combustion asdefined in claim 1 in which heated gases generated by combustion of thefuel are passed into heat transfer relationship with a component of thecombustor in which the method is carried out that is subject to carbonbuild-up to burn off fuel that may have escaped through said annulus ofcombustion air to said component and thereby prevent carbon build-up.10. A method of effecting combustion as defined in claim 1 wherein thereis imparted to said fuel in at least one operating mode a rotation inthe same direction as that of the rotating annulus of combustion air,thereby promoting the formation of said film of fuel.
 11. A method ofeffecting the low emission combustion of a liquid fuel which comprisesthe steps of: generating an outer annulus of axially moving, rotatingcombustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on the innerboundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong; atomizingsaid fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion air;centrifuging the atomized fuel outwardly into the annulus of combustionair to evaporate said fuel and mix it with the combustion air; andexpanding the annulus of the fuel-air mixture thus formed and ignitingsaid mixture and then effecting a downstream contraction of the fuel-airmass to promote the formation of a recirculation zone containing hotgases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of thefuel-air mixture and ignite the fuel-air mixture at a locationdownstream from the location at which premixing of the fuel with atleast that air in the outer annulus is initiated, ignition of the fueland air being delayed until atomization and evaporation of said fuel andthe subsequent formation of the fuel-air mixture are completed by sogenerating an inner annulus of rotating air on the inner side of theannulus of fuel after said fuel has been atomized as to isolate the fuelfrom the hot gases in the recirculation zone and thereby preventignition of said fuel until the formation of the fuel-air mixture iscompleted as aforesaid.
 12. A method of effecting combustion as definedin claim 11 in which the annulus of fuel-air mixture is so expanded asto generate a second, outer recirculation zone surrounding said premixedfuel and combustion air, said outer recirculation zone contacting themixture thus formed at a location upstream from the location where saidmixture is ignited by the hot gases in the first-mentioned recirculationzone, whereby the hot gases in the outer recirculation zone will ignitesaid fuel-air mixture at said upstream location and thereby reduce thelength of the flame generated by the combustion of the fuel-air mixture.13. A method of effecting combustion as defined in claim 11 in which theair in said inner annulus is caused to rotate in the same direction asthe air in the outer annulus to promote the mixing of the fuel andcombustion air and the evaporation of said fuel.
 14. A method ofeffecting the combustion of fuel in a manner which provides a stableflame at off-design conditions and low emissions under operatingconditions at or nearer the design point, said method including thesteps of: effecting the combustion of said fuel at off-design conditionsby: generating an annulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air;forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on the inner boundary of saidannulus at a specified location therealong; atomizing said fuel bycontact between said fuel and said combustion air and thereby forming astratified annulus of small fuel droplets which resist centrifuging intothe swirling annulus of combustion air; thereafter rapidly expandingsaid annuli to promote the mixing and subsequent combustion of said fueland air and then effecting a downstream contraction of the swirlingfuel-air mass to effect the formation of a recirculation zone containinghot gases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of thefuel and air and so ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heatingof the fuel before it is mixed with the combustion air; combustion beingeffected at design and nearer design conditions by: generating an outerannulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air; forming a thin,uniform film of fuel on the inner boundary of said annulus at aspecified location therealong; atomizing said fuel by contact betweensaid fuel and said combustion air; generating on the inner side of theannulus of atomized fuel thus formed an inner annulus of rotating air toprevent the ignition of the fuel; centrifuging the atomized fueloutwardly into the annulus of combustion air to evaporate said fuel andmix it with the combustion air; and expanding the annulus of thefuel-air mixture thus formed and igniting said mixture and theneffecting a downstream contraction of the fuel-air mass to promote theformation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel-air mixture and ignitethe fuel-air mixture at a location downstream from the location at whichpremixing of the fuel with at least that air in the outer annulus isinitiated.
 15. A method of effecting the combustion of fuel in a mannerwhich provides a stable flame at off-design conditions and low emissionsunder operating conditions at or nearer the design point, said methodincluding the steps of: generating an annulus of axially moving,rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on theinner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion airand thereby forming a stratified annulus of small fuel droplets whichresist centrifuging into the swirling annulus of combustion air;thereafter rapidly expanding said annuli to promote the mixing andsubsequent combustion of said fuel and air and then effecting adownstream contraction of the swirling fuel-air mass to effect theformation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air and so ignitethe fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuel before it ismixed with the combustion air; combustion being effected at design andnearer design conditions by so injecting fuel into said annulus ofcombustion air as to premix said fuel and air and subsequently expandingsaid annulus and then effecting a downstream contraction of the fuel-airmass to promote the formation of a recirculation zone containing hotgases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fueland air and ignite the fuel-combustion air mixture at a locationdownstream from the location at which premixing of the fuel with atleast that air in said annulus is initiated.
 16. A method of effectingthe combustion of gaseous fuel which comprises the steps of: generatingan annulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air; forming a thin,uniform film of said gaseous fuel on the inner boundary of said annulusat a specified location therealong; thereafter rapidly expanding saidannuli to promote the mixing and subsequent combustion of said fuel andair and then effecting a downstream contraction of the swirling fuel-airmass to effect the formation of a recirculation zone containing hotgases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fueland air and so ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heating ofthe fuel before it is mixed with the combustion air.
 17. A method ofeffecting the combustion of fuel which comprises the steps of:generating an annulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air;injecting a gas or atomized or vaporized liquid fuel into said annulusat the upstream end thereof; thereafter rapidly expanding said annulusto promote the mixing and subsequent combustion of said fuel and air andthen effecting a downstream contraction of the swirling fuel-air mass toeffect the formation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases whichstabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air andso ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuelbefore it is mixed with the combustion air.
 18. A method of effectingcombustion as defined in claim 17 in which the air in said annuluscomprises the major portion of the air required for the completecombustion of said fuel.
 19. A method of operating a gas turbine enginewhich is characterized in that the working fluid comprises hot gasesgenerated by effecting the combustion of a gas or liquid fuel in accordwith a method as defined in any of the preceding claims 1, 11, 14, 15 or16.
 20. A combustor comprising: an elongated, cylindrical casing havingan upstream portion and a downstream portion; a fuel injector in theupstream portion of said casing; means for forming an annular combustionair passage in said upstream portion of said combustor; means forintroducing combustion air into the upstream end of said passage and foreffecting a flow of said air therethrough; means for imparting arotational component to the air flowing through said passage, wherebysaid combustion air will be formed into and exit from said passage andthe upstream portion of said casing in the form of a rotating, axiallymoving annulus; and fuel supply means for so providing an annulus ofliquid fuel at or toward the downstream end of said injector that saidfuel will be inhibited against mixing with said combustion air and willform into a thin, stratified film on the inner boundary of saidcombustion air annulus and subsequently be atomized by the air making upsaid annulus; the downstream portion of said casing being ofsufficiently large diameter that said annuli of combustion air andatomized fuel can so expand thereinto as to reduce the centrifugalforces on, and promote the mixing and subsequent combustion of, saidfuel and air and the formation of a recirculation zone containing hotgases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fueland air and so ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heating ofthe fuel before it is mixed with the combustion air.
 21. A combustor asdefined in claim 20 wherein the fuel supply means is so constructed asto impart an annular rotation to the fuel being provided at saidinjector.
 22. A combustor as defined in claim 20 wherein said injectorcomprises a hollow annular body with an open downstream and and whereinsaid fuel supply means comprises a plurality of passages in theinjector, said passages opening onto the inner surface of said annularbody at an acute angle thereto in a direction transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the combustor to thereby impart a rotationalcomponent to the fuel exiting from said passages.
 23. A combustor asdefined in claim 22 in which said passages are oriented normallyrelative to the longitudinal axis of the combustor.
 24. A combustor asdefined in claim 22 wherein said passages are inclined toward thedownstream end of the injector body.
 25. A combustor as defined in claim20 which has means providing an annular, longitudinally extendingpassage around said injector through which air can be pumped at highvelocity to assit in atomizing fuel discharged from said fuel supplymeans.
 26. A combustor as defined in claim 20 which has means fordirecting air independently of said combustion air at high velocityagainst said annulus of fuel to assist in atomizing said fuel, whereinthe fuel supply means comprises a passage in said injector which extendsto the downstream end of the injector, and wherein the means fordirecting the atomization assist air against the fuel comprises anatomizing air passage also extending through said injector to thedownstream end thereof and means in said atomizing air passage forimparting a rotational component to air flowing therethrough.
 27. Acombustor as defined in claim 26 wherein the means in the atomizing airpassage are such that the rotational component of the air flowingthrough said passage is opposite in direction to that imparted to theair flowing through said combustion air passage.
 28. A combustor asdefined in claim 26 together with means in said fuel supply meanspassage for imparting to the fuel flowing therethrough a rotationalcomponent which is in the same direction as that imparted to the airflowing through the atomizing air passage.
 29. A combustor as defined inclaim 20 wherein said casing has a transition portion between saidupstream and downstream portions thereof that is so configured as to bewiped by the expanding, rotating annulus of combustion air to therebyprotect said combustor against overheating.
 30. A combustor as definedin claim 20 which includes means for forming between said annulus offuel and said recirculation zone an inner, rotating annulus of air whichis effective to insulate the fuel from the hot gases in said zone anddelay the ignition of said fuel, thereby allowing said fuel to becentrifuged outwardly into the annulus of combustion air and to beevaporated and mixed with said air and subsequently ignited to provide alow emission mode of operation.
 31. A combustor as defined in claim 30together with means for blocking the flow of air to said second airannulus forming means and thereby increasing the range of efficientoperation of the combustor and for making air available thereto tothereby drive the combustor into the low emission mode of operation. 32.A combustor as defined in claim 20 wherein said elongated cylindricalcasing has an outer wall, an inner wall, and a dome extending betweensaid walls at the upstream end thereof and wherein the means forintroducing combustion air into the upstram end of said combustion airpassage and for effecting a flow of said air therethrough includes meanscooperating with said inner and outer walls and said dome to form anaxially extending combustion air passage and a radially directed,annular passage communicating at the inner end thereof with said axiallyextending combustion air passage, whereby said combustion air will beformed into and exit from said axially extending combustion air passageand the upstream portion of said casing in the form of a rotating,axially moving annulus as aforesaid and said dome will be protectedagainst overheating by the combustion air flowing into said combustorthrough said radially directed combustion air passage.
 33. A combustoras defined in claim 20 which includes means for so introducing dilutionair into said downstream casing portion as to complete the combustion ofsaid fuel-air mixture without penetration of said air into the hot gascontaining recirculation zone.
 34. A combustor as defined in claim 20wherein said fuel supply means comprises a passage in said injector thatis annularly configured, concentric with the longitudinal axis of theinjector and inclined toward the downstream end thereof, and opens ontothe outer surface of said injector ahead of its downstream end.
 35. Acombustor as defined in claim 20 which also includes an elongated innercasing disposed concentrically within the casing having the upstream anddownstream portions to form said annular combustion air passage, whereinthe means for imparting a rotational component to combustion air impartssaid rotation to the air flowing through the aforesaid passage, wherebysaid combustion air will be formed into and exit from said passage andthe upstream portion of the outer casing in the form of said rotating,axially moving annulus, and wherein the fuel supply means surrounds saidinner casing and lies between it and said outer casing.
 36. A combustoras defined in claim 35 which includes means disposed within said innercasing and concentric therewith through which air can flow to cool saidinner casing and to provide secondary air for the combustion of saidfuel.
 37. A gas turbine engine comprising a turbine through which hotgases can be expanded to convert thermal to mechanical energy, acompressor driven by said turbine, and a combustor as defined in eitherof claims 20 or 36 communicating at the downstream end thereof with saidturbine for heating said compressor air for subsequent expansion throughsaid turbine.
 38. A gas turbine engine comprising: a combustor whichincludes: an elongated cylindrical casing having an upstream portion anda downstream portion; a fuel injector in the upstream portion of saidcasing; means forming an annular combustion air passage in said upstreamportion of said casing; means for imparting a rotational component tothe air flowing through said passage, whereby said combustion air willbe formed into and exit from said passage and the upstream portion ofsaid casing in the form of a rotating, axially moving annulus; and fuelsupply means for so providing an annulus of liquid fuel at or toward thedownstream end of said injector that said fuel will be inhibited againstmixing with said combustion air and will form into a thin, stratifiedfilm on the inner boundary of said combustion air annulus andsubsequently be atomized by the air making up said annulus; thedownstream portion of said casing being configured such that said annuliof combustion air and fuel can so expand thereinto as to reduce thecentrifugal forces on, and promote the mixing and subsequent combustionof, said fuel and air and the formation of a recirculation zonecontaining hot gases which stabilize the flame generated by thecombustion of the fuel and air and so ignite the fuel as to effectevaporation and heating of the fuel before it is mixed with thecombustion air; a compressor; means including said compressor forintroducing combustion air into the upstream end of the combustion airpassage and for effecting a flow of said air therethrough; and a turbinethrough which the hot gases generated in said combustor can be expandedto produce mechanical energy.
 39. A gas turbine engine as defined inclaim 38 which comprises means providing fluid communication between thedischarge side of said compressor and the interior of the combustorcasing through which dilution air can be introduced into the combustorand without penetrating into said recirculation zone to complete thecombustion of said fuel-air mixture and/or to cool the combustionproducts and/or the combustor.
 40. A gas turbine engine as defined inclaim 38 in which said combustor has an axisymmetric annularconfiguration.
 41. A gas turbine engine as defined in claim 38 whichincludes means for introducing a gaseous fuel into said combustor,whereby said gas turbine engine can be operated on said gaseous fuel,and means which is selectively activatable to supply either a liquidfuel or a gaseous fuel as aforementioned to said combustor.
 42. A methodof effecting the stable, non-luminous combustion of a liquid fuel whichcomprises the steps of: generating an annulus of axially moving,rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on theinner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion airand thereby forming a stratified annulus of small fuel droplets whichresist centrifuging into the swirling annulus of combustion air;thereafter rapidly expanding said annuli to promote the mixing andsubsequent combustion of said fuel and air and then effecting adownstream contraction of the swirling fuel-air mass to effect theformation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air and so ignitethe fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuel before it ismixed with the combustion air, the air in said annulus being rotated ata velocity which is sufficiently high that the resulting centrifugalforces will keep the hot evaporated fuel in the annulus thereof formedon the inner boundary of the combustion air annulus by evaporation ofthe fuel as aforesaid from moving radially outward into the combustionair annulus.
 43. A method of effecting the stable, non-luminouscombustion of a liquid fuel which comprises the steps of: generating anannulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air which contains notless than the stoichiometric amount of air needed for combustion of thefuel or air in excess of that amount; forming a thin, uniform film offuel on the inner boundary of said annulus at a specified locationtherealong; atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and saidcombustion air and thereby forming a stratified annulus of small fueldroplets which resist centrifuging into the swirling annulus ofcombustion air; thereafter rapidly expanding said annuli to promote themixing and subsequent combustion of said fuel and air and then effectinga downstream contraction of the swirling fuel-air mass to effect theformation of a recircualtion zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air and so ignitethe fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuel before it ismixed with the combustion air.
 44. A method of effecting the stable,non-luminous combustion of a liquid fuel which comprises the steps of:generating an annulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air;forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on the inner boundary of saidannulus at a specified location therealong; atomizing said fuel bycontact between said fuel and said combustion air and thereby forming astratified annulus of small fuel droplets which resist centrifuging intothe swirling annulus of combustion air; and thereafter rapidly expandingsaid annuli to promote the mixing and subsequent combustion of said fueland air and then effecting a downstream contraction of the swirlingfuel-air mass to effect the formation of a recirculation zone containinghot gases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of thefuel and air and so ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heatingof the fuel before it is mixed with the combustion air, the amount ofair present in said annulus of combustion air being less than thestoichiometric amount for combustion of the fuel, thereby maximizing therange of operation of the combustor in which the method is carried outand/or minimizing the conversion of fuel-bound nitrogen in the fuelbeing burned to NO_(x) and said method also including the step ofintroducing additional air into the combustor in which the method iscarried out to complete the combustion of said fuel, said air beingadded in a manner which is effective to keep it from penetrating to saidrecirculation zone.
 45. A method of effecting the stable, non-luminouscombustion of a liquid fuel which comprises the steps of: generating anannulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air; forming a thin,uniform film of fuel on the inner boundary of said annulus at aspecified location therealong; atomizing said fuel by contact betweensaid fuel and said combustion air and thereby forming a stratifiedannulus of small fuel droplets which resist centrifuging into theswirling annulus of combustion air; thereafter rapidly expanding saidannuli to promote the mixing and subsequent combustion of said fuel andair and the formation of a swirling annulus of burning gases and theneffecting a downstream contraction of the swirling annulus of burninggases to effect the formation of a recirculation zone containing hotgases which stabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fueland air and so ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heating ofthe fuel before it is mixed with the combustion air, the annulus ofburning gases being so expanded in promoting the mixing of said air andfuel as to generate an inner recirculation zone surrounded by said flameand an outer recirculation zone surrounding the annulus of combustionair and extending downstream from the location at which the expansion ofsaid stratified annuli of combustion air and fuel is initiated.
 46. Amethod of effecting the stable, non-luminous combustion of a liquid fuelwhich comprises the steps of: generating an annulus of axially moving,rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on theinner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion airand thereby forming a stratified annulus of small fuel droplets whichresist centrifuging into the swirling annulus of combustion air;thereafter rapidly expanding said annuli to promote the mixing andsubsequent combustion of said fuel and air and then effecting adownstream contraction of the swirling fuel-air to effect the formationof a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilize the flamegenerated by the combustion of the fuel and air and so ignite the fuelas to effect evaporation and heating of the fuel before it is mixed withthe combustion air; and, during light-off, directing an airpump-generated, high velocity stream of air into contact with said fuelfilm to promote the atomization of said fuel.
 47. A method of effectingthe low emission combustion of a liquid fuel which comprises the stepsof: generating an outer annulus of axially moving, rotating combustionair; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on the inner boundary of saidannulus at a specified location therealong; atomizing said fuel bycontact between said fuel and said combustion air; generating on theinner side of the annulus of atomized fuel thus formed an inner annulusof rotating air to prevent the ignition of the fuel; centrifuging theatomized fuel outwardly into the annulus of combustion air to evaporatesaid fuel and mix it with the combustion air; expanding the annulus ofthe fuel-air mixture thus formed, igniting said mixture, and theneffecting a downstream contraction of the fuel-air mass to promote theformation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel-air mixture and ignitethe fuel-air mixture at a location downstream from the location at whichpremixing of the fuel with at least that air in the outer annulus isinitiated; and, during light-off, directing an air pump-generated, highvelocity stream of air into contact with said fuel film to promote theatomization of said fuel.
 48. A method of effecting the combustion offuel in a manner which provides a stable flame at off-design conditionsand low emissions under operating conditions at or nearer the designpoint, said method including the steps of: effecting the combustion ofsaid fuel at off-design conditions by: generating an annulus of axiallymoving, rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel onthe inner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion airand thereby forming a stratified annulus of small fuel droplets whichresist centrifuging into the swirling annulus of combustion air;thereafter rapidly expanding said annuli to promote the mixing andsubsequent combustion of said fuel and air and then effecting adownstream contration of the swirling fuel-air mass to effect theformation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air and so ignitethe fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuel before it ismixed with the combustion air; combustion being effected at design andnearer design conditions by: generating an outer annulus of axiallymoving, rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel onthe inner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustionair; generating on the inner side of the annulus of atomized fuel thusformed on inner annulus of rotating air to prevent the ignition of thefuel; centrifuging the atomized fuel outwardly into the annulus ofcombustion air to evaporate said fuel and mix it with the combustionair; and expanding the annulus of the fuel-mixture thus formed, ignitingsaid mixture, and then effecting a downstream contraction of thefuel-air mass to promote the formation of a recirculation zonecontaining hot gases which stabilize the flame generated by thecombustion of the fuel-air mixture and ignite the fuel-air mixture at alocation downstream from the location at which premixing of the fuelwith at least that air in the outer annulus is initiated; and, duringlight-off, directing an air pump-generated, high velocity stream of airinto contact with said fuel film to promote the atomization of saidfuel.
 49. A method of effecting the combustion of fuel in a manner whichprovides a stable flame at off-design conditions and low emissions underoperating conditions at or nearer the design point, said methodincluding the steps of: generating an annulus of axially moving,rotating combustion air; forming a thin, uniform film of fuel on theinner boundary of said annulus at a specified location therealong;atomizing said fuel by contact between said fuel and said combustion airand thereby forming a stratified annulus of small fuel droplets whichresist centrifuging into the swirling annulus of combustion air;thereafter rapidly expanding said annuli to promote the mixing andsubsequent combustion of said fuel and air and then effecting adownstream contraction of the swirling fuel-air mass to effect theformation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases which stabilizethe flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air and so ignitethe fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuel before it ismixed with the combustion air; combustion being effected at design andnearer design conditions by so injecting fuel into said annulus ofcombustion air as to premix said fuel and air, subsequently expandingsaid annulus, and then effecting a downstream contraction of thefuel-air mass to promote the formation of a recirculation zonecontaining hot gases which stabilize the flame generated by thecombustion of the fuel and air and ignite the fuel-combustion airmixture at a location downstream from the location at which premixing ofthe fuel with at least that air in said annulus is initiated; and,during light-off, directing an air pump-generated, high velocity streamof air into contact with said fuel film to promote the atomization ofsaid fuel.
 50. A gas turbine engine comprising: a combustor whichincludes: an elongated cylindrical casing having an upstream portion anda downstream portion; a fuel injector in the upstream portion of saidcasing; means forming an annular combustion air passage in said upstreamportion of said casing; means for imparting a rotational component tothe air flowing through said passage, whereby said combustion air willbe formed into and exit from said passage and the upstream portion ofsaid casing in the form of a rotating, axially moving annulus; and fuelsupply means for so providing an annulus of liquid fuel at or toward thedownstream end of said injector that said fuel will form into a thin,stratified film on the inner boundary of said combustion air annulus andbe atomized by the air making up said annulus, the downstream portion ofsaid casing being configured such that said annuli of combustion air andfuel can so expand thereinto as to reduce the centrifugal forces on, andpromote the mixing and subsequent combustion of, said fuel and air andthe formation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases whichstabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air andso ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuelbefore it is mixed with the combustion air; a compressor; meansincluding said compressor for introducing combustion air into theupstream end of the combustion air passage and for effecting a flow ofsaid air therethrough; a turbine through which the hot gases generatedin said combustor can be expanded to produce mechanical energy; and apump operable independently of said compressor for supplying air to saidcombustor.
 51. A gas turbine engine as defined in claim 50 in which saidcombustor has means through which said air can be pumped at highvelocity to assist in atomizing fuel discharged from said fuel supplymeans.
 52. A gas turbine engine comprising: a combustor which includes:an elongated cylindrical casing having an upstream portion and adownstream portion; a fuel injector in the upstream portion of saidcasing; means forming an annular combustion air passage in said upstreamportion of said casing; means for imparting a rotational component tothe air flowing through said passage, whereby said combustion air willbe formed into and exit from said passage and the upstream portion ofsaid casing in the form of a rotating, axially moving annulus; and fuelsupply means for so providing an annulus of liquid fuel at or toward thedownstream end of said injector that said fuel will form into a thin,stratified film on the inner boundary of said combustion air annulus andbe atomized by the air making up said annulus, the downstream portion ofsaid casing being configured such that said annuli of combustion air andfuel can so expand thereinto as to reduce the centrifugal forces on, andpromote the mixing and subsequent combustion of, said fuel and air andthe formation of a recirculation zone containing hot gases whichstabilize the flame generated by the combustion of the fuel and air andso ignite the fuel as to effect evaporation and heating of the fuelbefore it is mixed with the combustion air; a compressor; meansincluding said compressor for introducing combustion air into theupstream end of the combustion air passage and for effecting a flow ofsaid air therethrough; and a turbine through which the hot gasesgenerated in said combustor can be expanded to produce mechanicalenergy, said combustor having means for forming between said annulus offuel and said recirculation zone an inner, rotating annulus of air whichis effective to insulate the fuel from the hot gases in said zone anddelay the ignition of said fuel, thereby allowing said fuel to becentrifuged outwardly into the annulus of combustion air and to beevaporated and mixed with said air and subsequently ignited, therebyproviding a low emission mode of operation, and said engine furtherincluding means which are selectively activatable to block the flow ofair to said second air annulus forming means and thereby increase therange of efficient operation of the combustor and to make air availablethereto to thereby drive the combustor into the low emission mode ofoperation.
 53. A method of effecting the stable, non-luminous combustionof a liquid fuel which comprises the steps of: generating a firstannulus of axially moving, rotating combustion air; forming a thin,uniform film of fuel on the inner boundary of said annulus at aspecified location therealong; atomizing said fuel by contact betweensaid fuel and said combustion air and thereby forming a stratifiedannulus of small fuel droplets; inhibiting the centrifuging of said fuelinto said first rotating annulus of combustion air by sandwiching theannulus of fuel between the latter and a second, inner, axially moving,rotating annulus of air which contains only a fraction of the amount ofair contained in said first annulus; thereafter rapidly expanding saidannuli of air and fuel to promote the mixing and subsequent combustionof said fuel and air and then effecting a downstream contraction of theswirling fuel-air mass to effect the formation of a recirculation zonecontaining hot gases which stabilize the flame generated by thecombustion of the fuel and air and so ignite the fuel as to effectevaporation and heating of the fuel before it is mixed with thecombustion air.